Thursday, June 21, 2018

Eliminating plastics from our lives is a very big challenge. Plastic is everywhere and we use it in most everything we do, including when picking up after our pets.

The most common material used by pet owners to clean up after their pets is reused plastic packaging, grocery or bread bags, newspaper sleeves, and other
similar bags - and those are all plastic!

One could choose more "eco-friendly" bags that are compostable or
biodegradable to use instead but, even though their production may be
better (which is a great plus!), they will still be going to the landfill
the same way all the other trash goes and, since landfills are designed NOT to have much decomposition happen to
anything that is buried in
there, the bags
will not disappear; they will be spending their time buried in the
landfill together with all the other trash.

Choosing one of these products over regular plastic depends on your preference, routine,
and how much money you would like to spend on such solution. I wonder how this job was done before plastic bags came along. That would be an interesting research to
be done for a future article.

*IMPORTANT information
obtained from Brevard County Utility Services Department and South
Central Treatment Plant
(http://www.brevardfl.gov/UtilityServices/ContactInfo): In Brevard Conty, you can flush pet waste but flushable bags are not 100% guaranteed to work - it depends on the composition of the bags and their requirements for biodegrading. So FLUSH THE WASTE but NOT THE BAG.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Restaurants provide to-go or take-out containers as part of their business. Most of them currently offer polystyrene (commonly known as styrofoam) containers because it is the type that is lowest in price - not the least expensive if we take into account negative externalities, but that will have to be the topic of another article.

Some restaurants are starting to look for more sustainable options to those disposable containers that are normally used once and then sent to the landfill - or worse, they end up as litter in our streets and oceans.

An easy first step for those restaurants would be to purchase to-go containers made of sustainable materials. I would recommend staying away from plastic, though - even the "renewable
source" kind. Even though the production process of those containers should be better than conventional plastic containers, their fate would be similar to their conventional counterparts - unless customers have access to composting services that would be able to process those kinds of material, which for us in Brevard is not much of an option right now.

So, a better option would be recycled
paper/cardboard or aluminum. Those are non-petroleum base materials and, when not soiled, they can be recycled.

Eco-friendly alternatives cost a bit more for the restaurants, but are a better option for the health of their customers and the environment.

Now, if restaurants are open to take a step further, they could implement an even better solution: give incentives for
customers who bring their own container - a coupon or a nominal discount - and offer their own branded (preferably non-plastic) reusable containers for a price. This
could eliminate the need for purchasing disposable to-go
containers all together, reduce waste, and increase loyalty. A total
win!

For
the latter solution, it may be worth considering not to sell those as an optional, separate item; maybe trying to make it work like a deposit would be a better option, i.e. add the container cost
into the price of the take-out order and if the container is brought back to
be used with their next order, no charge for the container would be applied, and a
loyalty discount would be offered instead as a reward for customer loyalty and eco-consciousness.

Perhaps a combination of the above
options would be a great compromise, but, we believe, moving towards implementing a
"reusable containers only" policy should be the goal.

And this is already a reality in some colleges and universities around the world!

We were pleased to find out that some colleges and universities have already incorporated reuse to-go containers into their business model.

Some offer discounts, others make the price of reusable containers lower than disposable ones to get students to buy in. They take back containers to sanitize them and put back to use. They also offer replacement for broken ones.

This shows that if we want to change, there are viable alternatives that will not compromise our convenience or safety but will have a significant positive impact on the environment.

Why not give existing solutions a try or even start a new trend that makes more sense to your business?

Monday, June 11, 2018

According to Earth911, in the U.S., paper recycling accounts for half of the recyclables collected per year, and our paper recycling rate is 63 percent.

Recycling paper reuses paper fibers and the longer the fibers, the
better the quality of the paper it can produce. Once shredded, paper
fibers are short and can only be recycled into lesser-quality paper
products like coffee filters, egg cartons and paper towels.

In Brevard, shredded paper is no longer recycled. So if shredded paper cannot be recycled, what can we do with it?

Other alternatives are to compost the paper or reuse it for shipping, or pets (guinea pigs and such), or for the bottom of a gift basket, for example.

Maybe checking with local crafters, artists (who would need to ship their items) or shipping companies or animal shops/shelters will provide another option as they might like to have some for their own use.

An alternative to shredding paper posted by Earth911 that should be considered for at least some of the paper being shredded is to "use a permanent marker to remove
the personal information without shredding the document. This ink is
easily removed in the recycling process." Which means that if you can avoid shredding, that will be the best option if you want to recycle your paper.

Other Local Initiatives

Here are some reusable items you can FIND in our facility. Use this list as an example of items you may DONATE for reuse: artificial flo...

Facility Information

In the Recycle Bin

NOT in the recycle bin

Electronics

Say NO plastic straws

Refuse plastic

America Recycles Day

Pledge: A simple step that shows your commitment.

Recyclebank

Learn, Pledge, and Earn!

Recycle Brevard

A Word from our Founder

Hi! My name is Marcia Booth. I am a mom of one and step-mom of two who lives in Brevard County and is concerned about the use of our natural resources and the effects of that on our environment in general.

Our family embraces recycling and other kinds of conservation. We enjoy, appreciate, and respect nature. We understand that everything in this universe is connected and we need to take care of our world, starting at our home and our community.

I believe in our community and in the power of different people working together toward a common goal. My hope is that this initiative helps in the journey of making the world a more sustainable place for us all to live in.

Since there's no better time to start than now, let's take this journey together and make it happen!